dvorak's family

Anna Dvorakova, nee Cermakova
(17 June 1854 - 14 July 1931)

Antonin Leopold Dvorak
(8 September 1841 - 1 May 1904)

ANNA CERMAKOVA was born in Prague, the daughter of goldsmith Jan Jiri Cermak (1820 - 1873) and Klotilda Cermakova, nee Prochazkova (1823 - 1903). She had six siblings: Terezie, who later took the name of Koutecka after her marriage (1845 - 1905), Ignac (1847 - 1869), Ferdinand (1855 - 1922), Marie, who later became Stepankova (1857 - 1889), Klotilda, later Hertanova (1859 - 1932) and Josefa, known as “Josefina” (1849 - 1895). The latter was a successful actress at the Provisional Theatre and was Dvorak’s great love during his younger days. She later married Count Vaclav Kounic but remained good friends with the composer and his family for the rest of her life.

Anna Cermakova and Antonin Dvorak were married on 17 November 1873 at St Peter’s church in Prague. During the first three years of their marriage they had three children - Otakar, Josefa and Ruzena – but all of them died in infancy. Over the ten-year period between 1878 and 1888 the Dvoraks had another six children, all of whom survived into adulthood: Otilie, Anna, Magdalena, Antonin, Otakar and Aloisie. The oldest child, Otilie – “Otilka”, inherited her father’s talent for music and several of her short piano pieces have survived to this day. In 1898 she married Dvorak’s pupil, the composer Josef Suk. Their grandson Josef Suk (1929 - 2011) later became a fine violinist. Otilie died prematurely in 1905 at the age of twenty-seven. Dvorak’s daughter Magdalena (known as “Magda” by her family) was also musical and became a concert singer. Son Otakar was later credited for preserving a large number of recollections about his father, which he published in book form in 1960.